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ShelterBox Collaborates in Haiti to Help Displaced

Around 18,000 homes were flooded, damaged or destroyed in Haiti following Hurricane Sandy, according to the United Nations.

A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is returning from Haiti after two weeks of assessing the need for emergency shelter and working with partners to coordinate distributions across the country.

Liaising with Handicap International, SRT members James Webb (UK) and Josh Mohr (US) recently travelled to Fond Verrettes, an area near the Dominican Republic border, where an entire town was covered in rubble after Hurricane Sandy caused a flash flood that tore it apart.

‘The damage caused was unimaginable,’ said James. ‘The lower level of the town was under at least a foot of rubble, resulting in hundreds of homes being destroyed or damaged.’

The SRT met with members of the community who described how they had been evacuated to a local shelter when the hurricane hit but after leaving found they had no homes to return to.

‘Lost everything’

‘The families have lost everything and have been through so much.’

The team also accompanied Handicap International to Babaco, a community in nearby Ganthier, which had also been hit by the Hurricane.